Flossmoor School District 161

Today is Substitute Educators Day! We are grateful to all guest teachers who keep our schools running smoothly. They are often ready to fill in at a moment's notice to serve our school community and support our students. Share your thanks in the comments below!

Today is Illinois School Board Member Day. Thank you to the dedicated and thoughtful individuals who make up the Flossmoor School District 161 School Board. We appreciate your commitment to our school community.

National Education Week is a chance to shine a light on the fantastic opportunities available to the students of School District 161. The endless opportunities include sports, music, clubs, and extra homework help to name a few. Share your student's favorite activity in the comments below!

It's National Education Week, and we would like to thank the dedicated teachers at School District 161 who inspire our students and take them on a growth journey all school year. Your dedication and commitment to excellence mean the sky is the limit for our students! #d161learns #flossmoorschools #NationalEducationWeek

Today several of our school communities hosted special Veterans Day celebrations. School District 161 wishes to thank all Veterans for their service and sacrifice. Enjoy these pictures from the festivities!

Click the links below to access each school's weekly newsletter. Thank you to the staff that works to gather this helpful information. Parker Junior High https://www.smore.com/rnsv9 Flossmoor Hills www.smore.com/t21wb Heather Hill https://www.smore.com/z0ehr-what-s-happening-at-the-hive Serena Hills https://rb.gy/5qok3a Western Avenue https://www.smore.com/5kg80

Thank you to the newest members of the Flossmoor School District 161 family who joined us for our new family event last night. We enjoyed sharing information and connecting with you. A special thank you to our community partners from the Homewood Science Center, You Matter 2, The Homewood Flossmoor Park District, The Flossmoor Library, and the Village of Flossmoor. We appreciate you taking the time to share your resources with us.

Pumpkin Smash is happening this Saturday at Coyote Run Golf Course. Don't Trash it, SMASH IT! Bring your pumpkin to Coyote Run and turn it into compost by watching it get dropped from the bucket truck or smashing it with a mallet. Say hello to Parker Junior High and Homewood Flossmoor High School volunteers while you're there!

Happy Halloween from Flossmoor School District 161! It would be positively FRIGHTFUL for you to miss out on the fantastic newsletters put together for your school each week! Are you AFRAID you missed your school newsletter this week? Links below! Parker Junior High https://www.smore.com/axep5 Flossmoor Hills https://www.smore.com/jpuf9 Heather Hill https://www.smore.com/2fxa4/edit Serena Hills https://rb.gy/31525 Western Avenue https://www.smore.com/pm2dj

Mark your calendars for Friday or Saturday to see All's Well in Roswell (Isn't It?) at Parker Junior High School. Tickets are $5 or $3 for seniors/students. Ms. Emily Nicotra and Ms. Shannon Lynch direct the fall 2023 play. See you there!

Thank you to the Chicago Heights Fire Department for stopping by Serena Hills yesterday to educate some of our youngest Serena Hills Stars on the importance of fire safety.

Neptune Navigate visited Flossmoor School District 161 earlier this month to provide parents and guardians with tips to keep their students safe in the digital world. Families can continue the conversation at home by accessing the videos in the link below. Each video corresponds to a lesson students will have during the school year. In addition, Neptune Navigate provides discussion questions by age group to help foster meaningful conversations about being responsible digital citizens. https://neptunenavigate.com/ctc/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf35P37i2Ao

Homewood-Flossmoor High School Your VOICE Matters Survey: As Homewood-Flossmoor High School charts a course for the future through a strategic planning process, it is asking the community to share their thoughts on what is going well and what areas the school may want to rethink. The entire HF community is invited to take the Your VOICE Matters Survey. Results will be analyzed by the Strategic Planning Team. The survey closes on Friday, October 20, so please respond today! Click the link below to take the survey: https://www.hfhighschool.org/district_info/strategic_plan

We hope you can join us for the upcoming District 161 Parent University session on October 3, 2023. Christina Jontra, Educator and CEO of the Neptune Navigate Digital Citizenship Organization, will share Digital Citizenship information for parents. The session will take place at Parker Junior High School [2810 School Street / Flossmoor] from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Aurelio’s Pizza will be served from 6:30-7:00 p.m. Please RSVP using this link: https://shorturl.at/ekmY1 If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Karen French at 708-647-7017.

District 161's Board of Education meeting has been cancelled for Tuesday, September 26, 2023. The next District 161 Board of Education will take place on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.

We hope to see you at the annual Back to School party tomorrow [August 18] at Flossmoor Park. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. with fun family activities followed by the showing of "The Super Mario Bros." moving.

Skyward will not be accessible on Monday, July 24, 2023, due to system maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We anticipate that Skyward will be accessible again beginning on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

There is a vacancy on the Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education due to the recent resignation of Misha Blackman. In keeping with the legal requirements that the Board appoint a successor within a 60-day period of the resignation, the Board is seeking applicants who are interested in being appointed to the Board of Education and to serve until the next consolidated general election which will occur on April 1, 2025. The pending appointment is for the remaining balance of the term for Misha Blackman. The seat will be up for election in 2025. Residents interested in applying to become a member of the Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education should submit a one-page letter of interest, along with a resume, to be received by the close of business [3:30 p.m.] on Monday, July 31, 2023. Submissions can be made by email, regular mail, fax, or hand delivery to Christina Vlietstra, Secretary to the Board of Education. Each submission will be acknowledged to verify receipt. The one-page letter of interest should address the following: Why are you interested in becoming a member of the Board of Education? What could you offer District 161? What prior experience/involvement have you had with the school district? All applicants need to meet the legal requirements to be a member of a Board of Education. A Board of Education member must be, on the date of appointment, a United States citizen of at least 18 years of age, a registered voter, and a resident of Illinois and District 161 for at least one year immediately preceding the appointment. Reasons making an individual ineligible for Board membership include holding an incompatible office and certain types of State or federal employment. A child sex offender, as defined in State law, is ineligible for Board of Education membership. Once letters of interest have been received, it is the Board’s intent to interview candidates on the evening of August 21, 2023. The goal of the Board of Education is to appoint the new member on August 28, 2023. Please direct all questions on this matter to Dr. Dana Smith, Superintendent of Schools. Submissions should be made to: Christina Vlietstra, Secretary to the Board of Education Normandy Villa School 41 East Elmwood Drive Chicago Heights, IL 60411 Email: cvlietstra@sd161.org Fax: (708) 754-2153 Phone: (708) 647-7030

Flossmoor School District 161's Community Engagement survey is open until June 23. Please take a few moments to fill out the survey and provide your input to help improve our practices and student outcomes. Surveys are available for current District 161 families as well as community members without children enrolled in the District. Please follow the links below: Community Engagement Survey: Current District 161 Families: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3YW5XSF Community Engagement Survey: District 161 Community Members [without children currently enrolled in District 161]: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RKJLLTN

The March to May Million Pages Challenge is winding down and we are so close to making our goal of reading one million pages! As of May 21, District 161 students, family members, and community members have logged a total of 935,080 pages. Don't forget to log your pages here: https://tinyurl.com/mryct2zn